Legal Research on Ecosystem Management

Author: Zhao Huiyu / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Continuously accepting and recommending new concepts and ideas that have a profound impact on the world is a characteristic of international environmental law. The "ecosystem approach" is such a new concept. In May 2000, the fifth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted Resolution V/6 on the ecosystem approach. The resolution states: "The ecosystem approach is a strategy for the integrated management of land, water, and living resources that aims to promote their conservation and sustainable use in a fair and equitable manner. The ecosystem approach is based on the application of appropriate scientific methods that focus on the biological structure at all levels, including the fundamental processes, functions, and interactions of organisms and their environment. It recognizes that humans and their cultural diversity are part of the ecosystem." The resolution proposes 12 principles regarding the ecosystem approach and provides five operational guidance points for their application. The resolution calls on all Parties and other Governments and international organizations to "apply the ecosystem approach as appropriate and strive to reflect in national policies and legislation and in appropriate implementation activities the manner in which the ecosystem approach is adopted and adjusted to local, national, and regional conditions," to "conduct case studies and pilot projects, and, as appropriate, hold workshops and consultations at regional, national, and local levels to raise awareness, exchange experiences, and enhance the capacity for adopting the ecosystem approach at these levels," to "support capacity-building for the implementation of the ecosystem approach, and request Parties, Governments, and relevant organizations to provide technical and financial assistance for this purpose," and to "promote regional cooperation, such as by adopting joint declarations or memoranda of understanding on the application of the transboundary ecosystem approach."
How do humans, living within various political boundaries, treat the large and small, interconnected ecosystems they inhabit? How do human economic and social development coordinate with and align with the Earth's ecosystems on which they depend? The ecosystem approach provides us with important insights. The concept of the ecosystem approach offers crucial guidance for humanity to treat natural resources and the environment correctly. This guidance holds significant importance, whether at the international level or the domestic level. At the international level, it requires countries to consider international environmental issues from the perspective of maintaining the integrity and completeness of the Earth's ecosystem. At the domestic level, it requires governments at all levels to consider local economic and social development issues from the perspective of maintaining the integrity and completeness of the ecosystem. The ecosystem approach is a methodology we need to implement the scientific outlook on development and achieve the 11th Five-Year Plan.
The aforementioned V/6 resolution states: "Humans and their cultural diversity are part of the ecosystem" and "ecosystems must be managed within the limits of their functional capacity." This serves as an important reminder to us. It reminds us to pay attention to the relationship between humans and their cultural diversity and ecosystems, as well as the limited carrying capacity of natural resources and the environment. The scientific outlook on development proposes that our development should aim to achieve harmonious development between humans and nature, and the 11th Five-Year Plan proposes binding indicators for resource and environmental constraints and measures such as territorial functional zoning—all of which reflect the application of the ecosystem approach. Due to the scientific nature of the ecosystem approach, it will ultimately be deeply and comprehensively reflected in China's environmental and resource law. New-generation environmental legislation will be legislation that better applies the ecosystem approach. Comrade Zhao Huiyu has responded to this trend in environmental and resource law by selecting the connection point between the ecosystem approach and law as a breakthrough, exploring ways for environmental and resource law to embody the ecosystem approach, and researching China's environmental and resource law from a completely new perspective. The topic is well-chosen. In this book, she proposes and discusses many good ideas for further developing China's environmental and resource law based on the concept of the ecosystem approach, making it worth reading.